Taliban militants seize police station in Pakistan, take hostages
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New Delhi: Taliban militants seized control of a police station in Pakistan and took hostage of the security personal belonging to the Counter-terrorism Department (CTD) on Sunday.
The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) fighters freed imprisoned terrorists after barging into the Bannu cantonment in Pakistan's northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, reports.
Bannu police spokesman Muhammad Naseeb told Reuters that it was not clear if the terrorists attacked from outside or snatched ammunition from staff inside.
Following the hostage situation at the Counter-terrorism Department (CTD), Pakistan Army troops were called in and the compound was surrounded by security forces.
Barrister Mohammad Ali Saif, who is special assistant on information to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister, said the situation was under control.
Meanwhile, Taliban militants in a video released from inside the CTD compound demanded safe passage to Afghanistan by air in lieu of releasing the hostages.
Early on Sunday morning, in a separate incident militants attacked a police station in Lakki Marwat bordering the South Waziristan tribal district killing four policemen and injuring many others, PTI reported.
Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan called off the ceasefire it had agreed with the Pakistan government in June and ordered its militants to conduct attacks across the country.